Video - Seelie/Unseelie

[teenyoda]

[The image that comes onto the lockets is an almost peaceful one. The blue sky and white fluffy clouds that bob a little from the POV of the locket. A little movement shows that that's because the transmission is clearly coming from a boat. The locket, with a little more jostling, is shown to be resting in fabric on what appears to be the deck of the boat. One might be curious as to why a transmission was coming suddenly from seemingly nowhere on a boat, but the answer shows itself soon enough in the form of one suckered tentacle flipping the locket around. If it was ever possible for an octopus to look both pissed off and surprised out of its mind, this one was doing a very good job. One of its many arms clutched at a small feather, the other limbs flopping around and smacking at the deck as the thing clearly tried to actually go somewhere. It couldn't walk to save its life and wound up rolling out of the pile of clothes, taking the locket with it.

Heavy stomps could be heard as boots came closer across the deck to the cephalopod, a shadow coming between the sun and the locket as a large man loomed over it. "Well then. What's this? How's you get aboard, ye slippery little thing. Back to the sea with you."

A hand bent down to try to pick up the octopus and there was a flurry of lashing arms as it latched onto the man and refused to let go. Curses were spat and the man called out for a fellow sailor, but before the other man could come closer with the knife it held to free his shipmate, a third voice joined. One others might find a bit familiar. A naked seventeen year old was clutching the man's arm and looking up at him with fear and horror. It took Stiles about five second to remember about the locket and he dropped to the deck, scrambling for both his clothes and to turn the locket off.]

~*~

[It was about twenty minutes later when a red-faced Stiles showed himself on the network.]

Um, about that...

Sorry? I... have no idea what happened. One minute I was standing looking over the rails and the next... um... aha. Let's just pretend that didn't happen, okay? Okay. But, if anyone can tell me what just happened, that would be really, really helpful. Especially in making sure it doesn't happen again.

Comments

[teenyoda]

I'm sorry, Sansa. I'd offer a hug, but, you know...

[She might take it the wrong way or think he was trying something. She seemed very self contained and not so open to displays of affection that Stiles was used to from his time.]

[steeledskin]

But it would do neither of us much good to see you dragged through the belly of this ship. [ her voice stays quiet. ] What have you done with the feather?

[teenyoda]

Any time you wanna come up, you know where I am.

[He looked down at his pouch.]

Put it in my little magical bag of stuff that holds magic stuff.

[steeledskin]

Do you believe it's worth keeping? [ who wants to be an octopus at will? ]

[teenyoda]

I'd rather keep it where I have an eye on it than let it go and have someone else accidentally get morphed.

[steeledskin]

So it is a gallant service you do us, Stiles.

[teenyoda]

You have this habit of making everything I do sound way better than it is.

[steeledskin]

It's every bit as good. Not all people would be so thoughtful.

[teenyoda]

If I get an ego problem, I'm blaming you.

[steeledskin]

An ego problem, Stiles?

[ she does not see how ego in a man is so terrible. even her father -- though honourable and just -- was not a particularly humble man. ]

[teenyoda]

Big head. Cocky. Over confident and... look. Just... it's a thing where we come from. It's one thing to be confident, but too much bragging can make you an egotistical jerk. Prideful, I guess is the right word for you.

[steeledskin]

Pride is a virtue. [ ... ] You tell me near enough the same, don't you?

[ when she derides herself-- ]

[teenyoda]

Sure it is, up until you're excessive about it. That's why people have humility. Or, some people do.

[Ignore the mention that he stroked her ego. She needed it. He didn't. Fair trade.]

[steeledskin]

I doubt in this case you would be excessive.

[teenyoda]

[Oh... Oh Sansa.]

I'm a teenage boy. Of course I can be. That's how we all wind up doing stupid stuff that gets us sent to the hospital.

['Let's go look for a dead body in the woods' sound familiar to anyone?]

[steeledskin]

Or the stupid things that vault you into glory.

[teenyoda]

Ha ha, no, no glory. Just stitches and casts and the shame of it being on Youtube forever.

[steeledskin]

[ she must be sad or off-her-game or something because she doesn't even ask what youtube is. ]

And yet you've not struck me as craven. Are you truly so cautious, Stiles?

[teenyoda]

No, and maybe that's part of the problem. I think a lot of things would be different if I was more cautious.

[Scott, for one. If he hadn't dragged him out there...]

[steeledskin]

But would they be better?

[teenyoda]

Maybe.

[Allison might be a lot less dead. Same with Erica and Boyd. There was no way to tell what might be different if he'd just stayed at home that night. Just hadn't listened in on his dad's business.]

[steeledskin]

I on occasion wonder about the opposite: would things have been better had I been less craven? And then I ask myself if there can ever be a middle ground.

[teenyoda]

If ifs and nuts were candy and nuts...

[He sighed and folded his arms on the table, leaning down to rest his head on it as he kept talking to his locket.]

The amount of times I've 'what if'd myself into a headache... it's not worth it, Sansa. We can't fix it. We can't change it. We have no idea of knowing and even if we did, you think it'd make what we're in any easier?

[steeledskin]

He was dead. My Lord Father. And then he lived again, here. Is that not change? Is that not something?

[ and had she been able to keep him here, perhaps the rest of her sins would be absolved. ]

ifs and BUTS... goddammit. I suck.

[teenyoda]

This isn't... I don't know, Sansa. I feel like this isn't real sometimes. Or like it doesn't count. Allison was dead too. She shouldn't have been here, especially not knowing she'd died, yet... she was. I don't get how it works, but I think it's... it's like a bubble. A bubble of something outside of how we live our lives. I don't know if we'll go back, but if we do, I don't know how much of this place will tag along with it.